The driver market August 26, 2013 by Joe Saward Prior to the Belgian GP weekend there was an awful lot of Internet clutter about the F1 world. With everyone involved on holiday, the cut-and-paste monkeys had to dream up some stories on their own and in consequence everything got in a complete muddle with every top driver joining every other top team. Having now had the chance to chat with some of the folk involved, this is my read on the situation. The real story is not Kimi Raikkonen, but rather Fernando Alonso. Hes fed up with the results at Ferrari and wants action. The only way he can get that, apart from shouting at them in five languages, is to threaten to leave. Ferrari dont really believe he will depart, but they have to make contingency plans just in case he does a Lewis and defies the logic of the moment. The only obvious choice if Fernando goes is Kimi. Time is ticking and tocking ever onwards and Fernando believes that he should perhaps have won more titles than he has. The problem he has is that the options are none too promising. One cannot imagine that he would want to be at Red Bull where Sebastian Vettel are planted under the desk. Fernando may suavely say that he does not mind who his team-mate is, but that is not strictly true. The toys still come out of the pram when he gets beaten. Mercedes is locked-down with Lewis and Nico and in any case one cannot really imagine a remake of that well known 2007 horror film Lewis and Fernando damage McLaren. McLaren is also not much of an option because they are just going into a cycle of interim years with new Mercedes customer engines in 2014, followed by new Hondas in 2015, so it is likely to be 2016 before the sowing will be reaped and Fernando is getting a bit old for that sort of thing. Lotus might be an option but Fernando will have heard the stories about Kimi not being paid on time. So, the reality is that Alonso will probably stay where he is and if that happens you can put money on Felipe staying on as his wing-man. Kimi is happy where he is, but would be happier if he was paid in full. All he wants to know is that the team will have the money it needs to do the job properly, so his management may go around stirring up stories but the reasons he will stay where he is are much the same as those of Fernando. If Romain Grosjean continues to show good form there is again no real point in changing the line-up, particularly as the presence of Romain keeps Renault and Total happy. And the one question that no-one seems to have asked: why would Kimi go to Ferrari if the Italian team Is in such a state that Fernando wants to leave? In the overall scheme of things Ferrari is not doing a bad job and is improving all the time, but the same problem remains: Red Bull is doing it better. Red Bull, by the way, is taking Daniel Ricciardo. He is quick enough to get points but not really a threat to Saint Sebastian. joeblogsf1 | The real stories from inside the F1 paddock
Yes seems to be me after all the huffing and puffing, things will probably stay the same, and Ricc gets the empty RB seat.
It was always a rather simple exercise. The only 'real' movement was at Red Bull. Massa's seat after. Nothing else really at the top end of the grid.
Button in the press today that he is committed to Mclaren. Thats another rumor dead. Button to commit his future to McLaren | Planet F1 | Formula One News
What annoys me slightly in Joe Saward's paper is that he is confirming me in my growing conviction that Felipe will stay...well, "c'est la vie". Rgds
Alluding to the fact that is something FA probably wants. The team may see otherwise and replace him no matter.
Oh agreed on that, no problem; the fact that the team may want otherwise is in fact my greatest hope...but somehow, I fear Felipe will stay... Rgds
I have no fear of Felipe, I only fear another car that will not be on the front row after Q3 on a regular basis. Thats the problem for the team. Its not really the drivers per se. Its the machine.
Ferrari will not win the WCC with the Alonso / Massa line-up as Fernando is not so great as to overcome Massa's mediocrity. Yes the car isn't up to the task,... but if Ferrari designed a car good enough to win with the current driver's,... they wouldn't need Alonso's skill,... as 2 competent drivers would manage the task. Ferrari needs to show Alonso who's boss. Question is,... who to put in the #2 seat.
I would say they need both a better car (sure) and a second car that is not wasted; Felipe is of no use to the team for the time being, as he can't take points from the opponents. Rgds
Ok if we look at the standings we can see team mate comparisons at this stage, now one could say Fred is over performing the car, or Massa is well.... make your own minds up. I think personally it shows up pretty relatively the difference in driver skill at this stage, within the top teams. You could argue Massa should be higher than Nico/Lewis. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes Massa is not making the same stats. No question. The WCC is hardly a priority to me given that they have kept him in the seat for how long??? The WCC argument is growing weaker and weaker. The headlines are for the WDC. The constant refrain from the team is WDC for FA, 'we must push for the title/his title'. Not titles. Points off opponents? Again they dont make much of an argument publicly. They simply dont have a title winning car...again. I dont care if they win the WCC. Its a nice addition to the WDC if you can get it. If you win the WDC you get more, much more out of it. No question.
If Kimi sat in car #2 this season, Ferrari would have a good shot at the WCC. The problem is Massa, I fear.
The car is the their biggest problem. Massa is a nice deflection from a team that has NOT produced a car that sits on the front row after Q3. They should fix that first. If they fire Massa so be it. Its a team call that FA probably has some input on. We have no idea how great Kimi would be. He didnt do well last time againt Felipe overall. Those 'what they may do in a Ferrari' conjectures are pointless. We have no idea how well a Massa replacement will do until they fire up the car and compete.
The car is the their biggest problem. Massa is a nice deflection from a team that has NOT produced a car that sits on the front row after Q3. They should fix that first. If they fire Massa so be it. Its a team call that FA probably has some input on. We have no idea how great Kimi would be. He didnt do well last time againt Felipe overall. Those 'what they may do in a Ferrari' conjectures are pointless. We have no idea how well a Massa replacement will do until they fire up the car and compete.
IMHO Hülkenberg would be an excellent #2 in a top team. I doubt that he's WDC material under normal circumstances, but he surely is a younger version of Webber, Button, Barrichello et al.
So explain Fred then, Ham can hold his own against him, the Ferrari car is not as bad as you think, Merc had horrendous tyre wear problems now it's some way sorted, I'll admit there is not a lot in it.
Personally, I'd rather have a pole position capable car where you have to look after the tires more rather than a car that lacks pace but is good on tires. With the former, you have a better shot at winning races, IMO.
